Field
The present disclosure relates to solid state lighting and, more specifically, to solid state lighting light fixtures with integrated wireless control.
Description of the Related Art
Luminaires (light fixtures) utilizing light emitting diodes (LEDs) have in recent years become practical from the standpoint of cost, efficiency, durability, etc. For example, such luminaires have penetrated the lighting market to some degree due to the increasing luminous efficacy of commercially available LED components. LED luminaires are desirable as they offer customers energy savings due to good luminous efficacy combined with the ability to precisely control light distribution patterns, which is of particular importance for outdoor lighting scenarios. Another benefit of LED luminaires is that with the right control mechanism the LEDs are controllable. Each LED luminaire can start-up (i.e., illuminate) on a near-instantaneous basis, and may be dimmed to any level by varying the current to each LED via dimming power supplies, e.g. drivers, that offer dimming leads accepting the standard 0-10V input format.
Further energy savings of LED luminaires can be realized by providing light only where and when needed. For example, LED luminaires can be dimmed or turned off until motion is detected in an area. The LED luminaires can also be dimmed according to a time of day, or set to illuminate at full brightness from dusk through midnight or another time, and then dimmed, saving energy, but still providing an acceptable level of lighting for overnight security purposes. Selective dimming or on/off operation of LED luminaires also slows lumen depreciation and extends the service life of the LED luminaires.
Non-wireless or non-remote-control devices have been developed for LED luminaires to capitalize on the above-noted potential for energy savings. Motion sensors, or timing devices have been hard-wired into LED luminaires and may be set through manually controlled switches, e.g., DIP switches. Microprocessors programmed through a hand-held device via a wired connection, have also been used. Such hard-wired control devices are relatively inexpensive to manufacture, but on the fly changes to the LED luminaire settings are prohibitively laborious due to the need to manually change the hard-wired DIP switches or to establish a physical wired connection to each LED luminaire, resulting in no real cost savings. Other LED luminaire control devices run dimming leads from each LED luminaire to a central control panel. However, such central control panels are more complicated from a wiring perspective, typically requiring separate conduits for low voltage wiring, which makes them especially cumbersome for retrofit applications.
Wireless control devices have also been developed for LED luminaires. Such wireless control devices generally consist of a control module and an antenna within each luminaire, and one or more external computers that allow users to control the luminaires from the external computers that interface to the luminaires.
However, currently available wireless lighting control devices typically suffer from distinct drawbacks. One such drawback is high cost sufficient to negate significant market penetration. Currently available wireless lighting control devices sell for over $100 per luminaire as charged by the control device manufacturer, which means the final sale price by the fixture OEM is significantly higher. Further, there are additional costs associated with the external “access points” needed to control the luminaires, which typically runs in the hundreds of dollars. Further, current wireless lighting control devices are typically complex to configure to specific site requirements for actual use of LED luminaires in the field. Configuring such LED luminaires requires professional field service personnel to go out into the field and configure the LED luminaires for the desired operational parameters, which comes at substantial cost to the customer. Another drawback is that currently available wireless lighting control devices are not self-contained within the luminaire such that they utilize external access points to set programmed schedules, and send commands to the individual luminaires to change illumination. Should the external computers fail, or wireless communications be impeded, the wireless lighting control device would fail to operate as intended. Another drawback is that the integration of a third party wireless lighting control device may not be specifically anticipated in the original design of an LED luminaire, complicating the manufacturing process, increasing the potential for a lower quality finished product, and increasing fabrication costs.